Cultural Partnership Agreement

The Cultural Partnership Agreement (CPA) is Arts Council Malta’s (ACM) source of regular funding for organisations from January 2017 till December 2019, replacing the former Organisation Support Grant.

11 organisations and festivals active in the cultural and creative sectors have been selected to become Arts Council Malta’s strategic partners during the years 2017-19.

Between them, these entities will receive a total of over one million euro through the Cultural Partnership Agreement during the coming three years. In return, they will be required to further the Council’s strategic aims as laid out in the Strategy2020, following a competitive call for proposals.

Following a rigorous screening process by Arts Council Malta representatives, the following organisations were selected: the META Foundation; Teatru Salesjan; Opening Doors Association; BLITZ and Kinemastik.

The selected festivals are: The Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival organised by Inizjamed; the Malta Short Film Festival organised by the Malta Film Foundation, the designers’ component of the Malta Fashion Week, the Valletta Film Festival organised by the Film Grain Foundation, L-Għanja tal Poplu and the Beland Music Festival.

From film to literature, from contemporary art spaces to community theatres, from fashion to the performing arts, the selected festivals and organisations offer a broad range of activities as well as geographical breadth. Between them, they number thousands – both in terms of volunteers as well as audiences. The organisations plan to use their funds to employ full-timers, to improve artistic quality, to develop audiences.

Most have ongoing relationships with Public Cultural Organisations such as Spazju Kreattiv and Pjazza Teatru Rjal, ensuring that the latter also strengthen their artistic programmes.

Meta FoundationValletta Contemporary is a new arts centre, run by the META Foundation, specialising in the contemporary arts. A state-of-the-art venue whose main aim is to promote contemporary art, Valletta Contemporary will showcase all the disciplines in the visual arts, including architecture and design. It will be a forum for the work of local and international artists, providing various and diverse opportunities for the community to enjoy and engage with artists and their works.

Teatru SalesjanThe theatre forms part of a wider complex called the Salesian Oratory (Salesjani Sliema), which acts as a hub of activity for people of all ages. The theatre is an important element of this network, with its values shared across the complex. http://tsmalta.com/

Opening Doors AssociationOpening Doors Association works for the creative development of artists with learning disabilities. The Association’s ethos is to promote creative processes and artistic skill with adults with learning disabilities, and therefore all our projects engage adults with learning disabilities in processes that facilitate the creation of their own work and aesthetic, and empower them to take ownership of this work and process. www.facebook.com/openingdoorsmalta/

BLITZBlitz is an independent, not-for-profit, project space which supports experimental and radical arts practice in all its forms. Blitz is a space to develop ideas, build relationships and nurture creative talent. The mission is to work closely with artists, curators, writers and researchers who are articulating these trends through cross-media and trans-disciplinary practice. http://thisisblitz.com/

KinemastikKinemastik is an NGO responsible for a year-round cultural programme based around a variety of activities that culminates with the Kinemastik International Short Film Festival. Besides the festival, Kinemastik organises workshops, exhibitions, concerts and talks. Kinemastik has been running its film club for 13 years, that has been curated by a dozens of artists and filmmakers from all over the world. As a labour of love entity, nowadays, Kinemastik has become one of the major cultural organisations in Malta. www.kinemastik.org

The Malta Mediterranean Literature Festival organised by InizjamedA festival that brings together writers from Malta, the Mediterranean and beyond to celebrate the music of words and discuss some of the major issues of our time. http://inizjamed.org/

The Malta Short Film Festival organised by the Malta Film FoundationThe Malta Short Film Festival offers a platform for local and international filmmakers and also stimulates discussion on media literacy among the general public. www.maltashortfilmfest.com/home

The Malta Fashion Week (designers’ component)The Malta Fashion Week aims to promote the Maltese fashion industry and Maltese fashion design as a valid creative art form that forms part of our national identity and culture. This is an international event in which several international designers participate each year. This important platform provides Maltese artistic designers with opportunities to network and build their own relationship with them directly.

The Valletta Film Festival organised by the Film Grain FoundationThe Film Grain Foundation aims to make the Valletta Film festival a leading cultural event in Malta and a major film festival in the Mediterranean, presenting high-quality productions from all over the world. The festival intends to build a legacy that goes beyond film exhibition and industry networking. The Valletta Film Festival also serves as a platform for local filmmakers to connect with the international film community. www.vallettafilmfestival.com

L-Għanja tal-PopluLocal musical artists are encouraged to write songs of a high standard, where they freely express the aspirations, experiences, environment and culture, traditions and desires of the Maltese people, and also on social international aspects that we share with other nations. www.ghanjafest.com

Beland Music FestivalThe Beland Music Festival is an open-air event dedicated to music and entertainment, involving a wide range of local and international artists. The aim of the Festival is to serve as a platform for the development and promotion of local artists in the musical sector.